Chris Evert played with Matteuzzi and dozens of other tennis players during a clinic at Latitude Sports Club in Peabody, part of a promotion she was taking part in for the Middleton-based Boston Lobsters and the World Team Tennis league.

For those not familiar with Evert’s name, it is attached to some of the toughest records to break in the sport (see box on Page 14 showing the record Evert holds on her own). She broke into the sport in the early 70s as a teen sensation, exiting the Grand Slam circuit in the 1980s after some huge victories over her rival (and current close friend) Martina Navratilova.

“We keep in touch all the time,” said Evert, now 56. “We’re better friends now because we’re all retired.”

Another old rival and close friend from the 1970s, Billie Jean King, asked Evert to run the clinic and join the Lobsters for their July 14 match against the St. Louis Aces at Ferncroft Country Club in Middleton.

“Billie Jean called me about a month ago, and asked me to come for four nights and help out with the league and the sponsors, do some PR and give some clinics,” Evert said. “I believe in World Team Tennis, I played for three years [and was MVP in 1978]. You’re not playing for yourself. You look on the bench and see four or five people coaching you. It was a lot of fun for me, and I see the players enjoying it.

“When Billie Jean asks you to do something, you do it,” she added, with a laugh.

That was much to the pleasure of about 60 players, some from the Tennis4All group, which according to its website, tennis4all.org, “fosters and promotes goodwill, fellowship, and healthy competition among tennis players in the gay and lesbian community.”

Evert switched doubles partners a number of times, allowing several players to team up with her, and to hit against her. Each team got one rally against her and her rotating crew of partners.

“She’s been my idol since I was 5 years old, so I’m more than a little nervous,” said Greg Lanza, of East Boston. “I used to take off from school when she was in a big match, in the semifinals or finals. My favorite memory was the 1986 French Open when she took out Martina for her last [Grand Slam championship] win.”

Evert agreed, and added the prior year to that memory.

Page 2 of 5 - “The most memorable for me, but not for Martina, were the last two French Opens when I beat her, and I wasn’t the favorite,” she added.

Lexington’s Janet Liu has been to Lobsters-and WTT-run clinics run by Navratilova, men’s player John Isner and now Evert.

“I never thought I would be Chris’ partner or beating her on a point — I beat her on a lob,” said Liu. “I’ve been watching her since the 1980s. I’ve been just playing a few years.”

“I think she’s very kind and she adapts to your level,” added Beverly’s Mary DiVincenzo. “She doesn’t try to kill you — and she can easily do it. She can tell what your level is and she backs off appropriately. I go way back, I remember all of her matches.”

Matteuzzi was also complimentary to Evert’s interaction with recreation players.

“She gave great feedback — “move up, you take the alley, I’ll take the middle,’” she said. “She’s my new best friend and I hope she’ll be my best friend. This was a highlight of my life.”

Evert enjoys the no-pressure circuit of running clinics and doing promotional activities like last week’s visit to the North Shore. Her competitive days are over.

“When I see the caliber of play [in the WTT], it’s a pretty high standard,” said Evert. “I’m good for hit and giggle, but not really more than that at my age.”

She’s able to look back at a lifetime of awards, dramatic points and travel all over the world. Perhaps the honor she is most proud of is when, in 1985, the Women In Sports Foundation named her the Greatest Female Athlete in the 25 years between 1960-85.

“I don’t know how you can measure that,” she said. “There are so many great women athletes, but I think that showed how popular tennis was and its impact on people’s lives. It said more about the sport than it said about me.”

Speaking to the crowd

In the midst of a tough outing for the Lobsters (they eventually lost, 25-14, to the Aces), Evert took to the Ferncroft court with Emily Rooney, host of WGBH’s “Greater Boston” talk show. Rooney asked her a couple questions, and the audience queried her on a few subjects as well, to which she gave comments from a lifetime in the game:

On grunting: “Unfortunately, it’s gotten out of control. It really started 15 years ago with Monica Seles, who is a friend that I love, but if they were going to put a rule on it, they should’ve stopped it right there.”

On retirement: “Joy comes in tennis when there’s not as much pressure. Playing with friends and my kids, that’s where my joy is today.”

Page 3 of 5 - On her favorite matches: “There were so many over 18 years, but two stand out. When I was 15, I beat Margaret Court, 7-6, 7-6, on clay. For a schoolgirl from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to beat the World No. 1, that was huge. The other is the 1985 French Open when I beat Martina. Everybody thought Martina and Steffi Graf would dominate, but I showed them.”

On today’s tennis players: “If you look at players like Maria Sharapova, they’re all phenomenal athletes, more athletic than in my day. Nowadays, you have to be a great athlete to be a great tennis player.”

On the mental game: “The mental game was pretty important to me. I was not as strong as Martina, nor as quick as Steffi. I think I compensated by being mentally tough and playing every point, working hard every single point. I was just a girl from Fort Lauderdale who had some talent, but worked her way to the top by hard work and concentration.”

When someone asked her what her favorite surface was, she turned it over to her many fans in the audience: “What’s my favorite?” “Clay!” was the answer from at least 100 spectators. Just look at those records to see why.

Lobsters newcomer Chanelle Scheepers, a 27-year-old South African native who has reached as deep as the fourth round at the French Open (in 2010), was happy to make her debut the same night as Evert’s visit.

“It’s really nice to have her here. She had such a great career,” said Scheepers. “It was really nice on my first night and I’m excited to play in Boston. I’ve played here before but on opposite teams.”

Scheepers and other Lobsters like Coco Vandeweghe, Mashona Washington, Jan-Michael Gambill and Eric Butorac represent a new wave of tennis talent that you may see deep in the Grand Slam tournaments these next few years. They’ll be following a path blazed by the legend in their midst that July 14 evening.

Chris Evert’s record collection*

34 Grand Slam finals between 1973-88

7 French Open championships

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6 U.S. Open championships

4 Consecutive U.S. Open championships

31 Consecutive U.S. Open singles victories (1975-79)

9 U.S. Open finals

6 Consecutive U.S. Open finals

3 Times won U.S. Open in straight sets (1976-78)

13 Years in a row with at least one Grand Slam title per year (1974-86)

125 Victories on a single surface (clay)

17 Consecutive years ranked in the top four (WTA) (1972-88)

.941 Best career winning percentage on a single surface (clay)

Page 5 of 5 -

.900 Best winning percentage of any pro tennis player (male or female) in history – 1,306 wins, 146 losses.

* = showing only records of which she has sole possession (there are three other records she is tied with other players)